It’s not what we have in our life, but who we have in our life that matters.

When Eunice and I were growing up overseas, we moved every few years. That meant making new friends and then leaving them. Again and again.

Luckily, we used hand-written letters to keep in touch. Yes, that was before social media, but hang with us. Today, some of those old friendships are some of our deepest. And, we still have the old letters we wrote and received from friends -- re-reading them reminds us of who we were then, and how far we’ve come, together.

That’s part of what inspired us to write our latest book, Happy Mail. We wrote it to inspire girls and women to express and share their creativity with their friends. The process of sharing what we’ve created with the people we love most is exhilarating.

By creating, we can find and develop our true voice. That’s empowering.

And by sharing what’s in our heart, made with our own hands, we invite people to see us for who we are. That’s empowering, too.

Many years later, it’s still those friends we once wrote letters and cards to when we were girls, who make our lives matter.

When people ask us what we do for a living, they are often surprised to hear we make greeting cards. “Do people even send those anymore?” they ask (or we know they want to ask! heheh).

It’s like being creative, cultivating happiness, and spending time to take care of relationships (which is what cards and letters really are all about) might somehow frivolous.

We're happy to say that it is anything but! As 75-year Harvard Medical School study cited by Sunshine Parenting shows that "good relationships”—not wealth, status, or privilege—“keep us happier and healthier.”

When we went to the Women’s March and made our protest posters in January, it was because we believe we need keep our relationships strong and stay positive -- as Americans, as girls and women, and as human beings, regardless of where we are on the ideological or political spectrum.

What we’ve learned since then is that envisioning a positive future for America begins with each one of us. We have to see it to believe it. And we have to believe it to see it.

What does that look like?

That vision begins with taking care of ourselves, and our friends and neighbors.

It means taking the time and space to be creative. When we make space to focus and create, rather than get distracted and react, we find get grounded and are able to imagine new possibilities for ourselves and for our world.

It also means not being intimidated by fear, incivility, and negativity.

It means focusing every moment on making the world more positive, happy place. Because happiness is far from superficial. It is powerful.

That’s a big part of why we wrote our new book, Happy Mail (you can pre-order it here). Happy Mail is aimed at helping girls and women slow down and take the time and care to discover their creative power and share that power with their friends. Why? Because a strong social fabric has to be woven one strand -- one friendship -- at a time.

One day soon, there will be a woman president and more women in leadership roles (we've already made amazing strides, let's not forget!). Strong female leaders are going to be confident, creative, positive, generous, caring, and have a good sense of humor (because if you’re truly confident, you can laugh at yourself and make others laugh, too!).

So we invite you to start discovering and empowering your own creative voice now. Learn how to nurture and maintain deeper relationships with your friends, neighbors and fellow citizens, in person and and social media. If you do, not only will you have stronger friendships, you'll be happier and healthier, too!

And who knows? With courage, creativity, and persistence, someday the next president might be YOU. :)

Calling all letter-writers and craft enthusiasts! In anticipation of our new book Happy Mail, which comes out in September (pre-order it HERE), we’re hosting a Summer Pen-Pal Competition!

Do you want to learn to do some amazing hand-lettering and drawing techniques, make your friends super happy this summer by sending them awesome mail, and get some amazing mail back? If so, this contest is for you!

Here’s how to participate:

Pick a friend and agree to be pen pals this summer! Trade snail mail addresses and agree on how often you’re going to write.

From June - August, write at least 3 letters each -- that’s just one a month! Totally doable. Check our blog all summer for inspiration and ideas! We’ll be posting sneak peeks inspired by Happy Mail showing cool new lettering techniques and card ideas! A little wobbly about your artistic abilities? No worries. We’ll also be offering some free downloads that you can just color in and write on!

At the end of the summer, write us a letter or card to us telling us about your summer pen pal adventure!

Mail it to:

Eunice and Sabrina Moyle

Happy Mail Summer Pen Pal Contest

PO Box 170605

San Francisco, CA 94117

Remember to include a return snail mail address for BOTH pen pals so that we can mail get your prizes to you if you win!

Pen pals whose letters we receive by September 1st will be entered into a contest to win a FREE copy of Happy Mail, a STASH of original Hello!Lucky letterpress cards, AND a BUNDLE of Sakura pens.

We’ll be picking 3 WINNERS and there might be fun surprises for other pen pals, too! We can’t wait to hear from you! Good luck with your pen pal adventure!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for inspiration all summer long and to share your Summer of Happy Mail by tagging @helloluckycards #summerofhappymail

P.S. Anyone can participate! We mean anyone!

Questions? Email us at info@helloluckycom. We’d love to hear from you!

We are SO excited to announce our new book, Happy Mail, available in bookstores nation-wide this September! We're offering you the first glance and chance to order your own copy. The book is now available to preorder at your local bookstore or online here and here, order now and receive a pre-order gift package!

It’s more than just writing, it’s an art! Hand-lettering is easy to dive into, even for new artists, and we're here to take your DIY projects to the next level!

Learn the basics of how to create beautiful hand-lettering designs, and how to apply your hand-lettering skills to creating beautiful cards, stationery, envelopes, and more. Happy Mail introduces the basics of lettering techniques, specifically font styles and the basics of brush calligraphy, plus it features beautiful projects to learn and perfect by focusing on the art of hand-written letters and hand-lettered cards--- Check out our last blog post (link) for a feel for the projects you'll find throughout the book.

Perforated envelopes and stationery designs are also included as a fun bonus! Tear out, decorate, and mail your masterpieces to family and friends.

We’re offering a very special pre-order gift to the first 150 readers who pre-order a copy of Happy Mail.

Writing a Mother's or Father's Day card feels like a loaded quest, because they did give us life after all. But fear not, we've got a few quick tips for expressing your gratitude in a way that speaks to you...

What to write in a Mother's Day card

Being a mom is no joke, and tougher than ever these days with more moms working and wearing ALL the hats. Here's a little secret: most moms harbor a nagging feeling they could have done better, so Sunday is the day to let her know that she's done good and to tell her you recognize all her efforts!

What do you do if your relationship is a little strained? Focus on the positive. We've all had our share of mama drama, but let's acknowledge that she's always given it her all and appreciate the ways you've grown and learned from her (celebrate the best and forget the rest!).

Is she a tiger mom? Let her know you're thankful for everything you learned under her roof (and are still learning!) under her rigorous tutelage. Is she a great listener? Let her know how much you appreciate being able to call her any time, rain or shine.

You can tip your hat to her for showing up for you day after day by encouraging her to take it easy today (maybe back that up with an incentive -- a bottle of wine or a gift certificate for some pampering!). Better yet, make her a card...

We've pulled one of our favorite projects from our new book, Happy Mail, pre-orders here and here, and coming to a book store near you.

DIY STEPS

Nothing says I love you like a handmade card. For this project, we used one of our favorite tools, the Molotow Marker, to give it an airy feel that’s both polished and personal. Mom will love it!

Make your card! Fold a piece of black cardstock in half and using a craft knife, ruler and cutting mat or magazine, cut the card down to 5” x 7”, folded.

Draw two parallel horizontal lines in the middle of your card with the Molotow Marker and the write the message along the two lines. No need to be rigid! Let the pen rule you. We encourage free handing it, but you can always draw it first in pencil (draw very lightly so that you can erase the pencil afterwards).

Doodle shapes around the type with the Molotow Marker. Allow to dry 5 or 10 minutes.

Paint over the entire front of the card with plain water. Using watercolors paint the card. We used two shades of blue to achieve an ombre effect.

When the watercolor is almost but not completely dry, put the card under a stack of heavy books to make sure it dries flat.

When the card is completely dry, remove the masking fluid by rubbing it with your finger (pro tip: we found that it was faster and cleaner to use a fresh white eraser).

Envelope:

With markers (we used two shades of blue that mimicked the colors on the card) doodle a matching pattern on the inside of the envelope, cutting off the pattern along the glue line of the envelope to create the illusion of an envelope liner.

Learn how to make more projects like this by ordering the book! The book also includes bonus cards, self-mailing letters, and stickers at the back that are inspired by the projects.

Preorder Happy Mail at your local bookstore or online here and here. First 150 pre-order are in for a treat! Stay tuned...

What better way to hone in on a letter-writing practice than to make it part of your daily ritual. We teamed up with Ritual Coffee, a San Francisco favorite, for a two-part letter-writing party for our Write_On Campaign in conjunction with National Letter-writing month. To really drive home the habit, we’re offering one card from our Write_On kit with every coffee purchase at Ritual Coffee on Haight St. and Valencia St. during the month of April. No excuses!

Last night was the first of the two events co-hosted by Ritual Coffee and we were so pleased with the response. We may be biased, but the coffee & card loving crowd might be our favorite! We gathered, we sipped, we wrote, and we’re doing it all over again on Thursday.

We hope you’ll join us for our second Write_On event at Ritual Coffee on Valencia St. Thursday April 6th, 6pm-8pm. We’ll be there passing out Write_On Kits and Sakura of America pens, and postage is provided for all your Write_On correspondence! It’s free & there’s no RSVP necessary- So come, bring your friends & address book, and write_on with us. More info here.

Special thanks to Ritual Coffee for co-hosting this Write_On event, to everyone who came out, and to our friends at Egg Press, Sakura of America, and Mohawk Paper for making Write_On possible.

Find out more about our second event at Ritual Coffee on Valencia Street below.

We're so excited about this year's campaign. Write_On's community of letter-lovers continues to grow and we've personally noticed our letter-writing practice grow stronger and stronger over the past year, thanks to the habit-forming Write_On challenge! Dashing off a thoughtful hand-written note comes more easily these days, and it feels great.

Official 2017 Write_On kit

To get ready for this year's Write_On challenge, we've been making lists of people to write to and stockpiling our favorite cards, pens and stamps. Of course, we'll be using this year's signature Write_On kits (available here on a pay-what-you-like scale while supplies last!) and our new weekly bundles.

However, some of our favorite Write_On finds this year, featured on the Write_On Resources page, is this gorgeous new card kit by Rhea Abramson founder of NY Letter-Writing Society and Mail More Love, and the Send More Love vintage stamp shop (to name a few)! If you feel like you're running out of steam we encourage you to visit our resources page- no shortage of tools, inspiration, and community events there!

Mail More Love rubber stamp

The kit itself includes 3 letterpress cards -- just enough to get you started -- but the kicker is that it it *also* includes a " / 30" rubber stamp so can number every piece of mail you send for the Write_On Challenge! So satisfying!

We hope you're as excited as we are for this year's challenge! We look forward to joining you in April, and be sure to tag #Write_On so we can see what you're up to!

it's International Women's Day, and we're taking the day off to support the importance of women's rights.

We encourage you to take a stand with us by using this day to praise the women in your life, to shop local and at women and minority owned businesses, and to wear red in solidarity (or sport your Wild Feminist enamel pin if you have one!).

To celebrate International Women's Day we created two free printable designs (download below) to print at home and color in. What better way to kick back and relax than to color in an empowering message? Coloring is proven to relieve stress and anxiety, improve self-esteem and self-awareness, and to promote a mindful and meditative state. More on that here.

If you're interested in more of our coloring and DIY projects, we're publishing a DIY book called Happy Mail and it's chock-ull of ideas and inspiration. The book is now available to pre-order through your local bookstore and available online here.

DOWNLOADS

We couldn't be more excited about our new partnership with Mixbook! Bringing you fun & customizable Hello!Lucky designs that translate perfectly into wall calendars, and soon photo books! Our new Wild & Free calendar is now available through Mixbook, and this week we are offering a buy one get one free offer with code HLBOGO, OR enter to win a Wild & Free calendar for you AND two friends through our Instagram account - @helloluckycards. Makes for a fun Christmas gift too, just sayin'!

We’re appalled by the headlines of today, and if there’s anything we’ve learned from the recent Brexit vote, it’s that showing up to take a stand effects tomorrow. Voter turnout has a major impact, in other words, your vote DOES count. We encourage you to not just hope for a better future, vote for one.

The Future is in Your Hands is an initiative to encourage young people to get out and vote. Because equal rights, college access, and protecting our planet is our future. This next election will set the framework for our justice system for DECADES, and it’s literally in your hands.

Together let’s stand up, speak out, and demand change.

To get involved, share the above graphic on social media and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to receive regular updates. You can also enter our Instagram contest to receive a limited edition hand-carved & block printed sweatshirt, tote or T by tagging your friends.

We are so excited to announce our new enamel pin collection! Now you can wear Hello!Lucky at $10 a pop, and they are the perfect gift for your gal pals! They come backed with a unique mini greeting with space on the other side for a personal note.

We’re gearing up for Halloween with one of our all time favorite craft tools. With the Silhouette America Portrait, you’ll have your own personal craft assistant. You be the designer and let the Silhouette table top cutting machine do the rest. Head to Instagram to enter the giveaway- @helloluckycards, @silhouetteamerica. Winner announced next Wednesday 10/13/14.

Don't be fooled by the Portrait's small footprint—it can cut over 100 materials including paper, cardstock, vinyl, chipboard, fabric, and more. We use it for just about every holiday, trade show, and craft fair, so safe to say it's a Hello!Lucky staple!

Because everyone is a WINNER in our book, we created free monster shadow puppet printables, just in time for Halloween! Don't have a Silhouette portrait? choose the PDF's below! For Silhouette products please choose DXF files.

FREE PRINTABLE MONSTER SHADOW PUPPET: DIY

Print out using your favorite construction paper palette using 8.5"x11".

If using an ink jet or laser printer, cut out with an exacto knife, hole punch, & cutting mat

It's National Thinking Of You week in the U.K., so we sat down and wrote a few notes to loved ones who have been on our minds lately. We're still working on forming the habit, so sometimes we need to be prompted to take time out of our day to write. The benefits of writing are proven to expand beyond that of the recipient, find out more about the psychological gains of writing here. We hope you'll join us in the Write_On movement this year!

Being sisters and co-owners of Hello!Lucky is tons of fun and makes some of the stress of running a small business a little more manageable -- as sisters, we can be totally honest with each other and our shared genes and upbringing mean that we tend to share the same work ethic and goals (not to mention a similarly juvenile sense of humor!).

Head on over to Say Yes blog to get the skinny on how we're different, what used to drive us crazy as kids, and what we admire most about each other.

Are you in business with your sister? We'd love to hear your stories and comments!

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the lovely Julia Hohne of Mrs. Vintage blog to talk about our evolving business for her fabulous new podcast, The Company You Keep, which highlights the experiences of small creative business owners.

We discuss everything from what inspired us to start our business, how we got our first order, how we established our distribution, our entry and exit from the custom wedding invitation market, our decision to collaborate with Egg Press in 2013 and shut down our SF studio, and lots more! You can listen on iTunes, or tune in here!

*All opinions are our own - We do not accept sponsored posts or compensation.

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Hello!Lucky

Letterpress Cards & Stationery

At Hello!Lucky we specialize in Letterpress greeting cards, as well offer DIY step by steps & free printables. Led by sisters Eunice and Sabrina Moyle, our small team of expert designers and artisan letterpress printers specialize in creating neon & foil, holiday cards, birthday cards, & thank you cards, that are full of creativity and whimsy. We've been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Design Sponge, Style Me Pretty, Real Simple, and many other leading publications. Please feel feel to contact us via chat, phone or e-mail - we'd be happy to assist you!